Hat-pin protector.



IVI. l. R. FLOCKER.

HAT PIN PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION man Nov. 23, 1915.

1,215,015. Pa1en1ed'11eb.6,1917.

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ll ATENT MUD l'. RAY FLOCKER, OF PITTSBURGH,

nemers.

Application filed November 23, 1915.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MAUD I. RAY FLocKnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, Allegheny county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Hat-Pin lProtectors, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to pin point protectors, particularly to that class of protectors adapted to be detachably secured to the pointed end of a hat pin.

The principal object is to provide a pin point protector which will effectively cover and protect the point of the pin when in use to prevent injury to persons or fabrics with which the point may contact.

-another object is to provide a means for securely gripping the pin and locking it in position on the hat to prevent its accidental displacement and loss.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a device of the class desc-ribed which will be strong and eliicient in use, easy to apply, ornamental, cheap to manufacture, and of such shape that it may be carried in a pocket book or like receptacle, where it will occupy a minimum of space.

My invention is fully disclosed in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is an elevation of a hat pin with the point protector attached;

Fig. 2 is a view of the same from the opposite side;

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. e is an elevation of a modification.

Referring to the drawings, 10 indicates the shank of a hat pin having a head 11 at one end, of any suitable shape or material and having its other end pointed. The shank 10 of the hat pin is preferably of strong and elastic material, such as steel, capable of retaining a sharp point. The point protector comprises two principal members, a base 13 and a leg 14C of spring wire. The base 13 is formed of a single blank of sheet metal having inwardly turned flanges on three of its sides, one of the flanges 15 being bent inward, as shown in Fig. 3, to form a guard or keeper under which the point of the pin is adapted to slip and to be retained. The other two flanges 16 and 17 are at right angles to each other and are bent'completely around; the

Specication of Letters Patent.

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:unir-rin PROTECTOR.

Patented Feb., 6, 1191??. Serial No. 63,091.

Lshaped upper end of the spring wire leg 1li of the protector' and are forced down to secure the leg to the base, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The other leg is formed into an eye 18 having a diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of the hat pin and the plane of the eye is arranged at a small anglo with the axial line of the leg 11i. sheet metal base 13 are substantially parallel and the long leg 11i of the l.shaped wire normally projects outwardly in substantially a straight line from the flange 17.

The method of uniting the leg and base is very simple and strong and obviously prevents the leg le from turning relatively to the base so that the plane of the coil or eye on the lower end of the leg bears a constant relation to the plane of the base or guard. The wire leg 14 may be either of greater or less stiffness than the hat pin and in either case the device is equally effective. ln Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the leg 14- stiifer than the shank of the hat pin; in Fig. l l have shown the leg of the protector as being thinner and more flexible than the shank of the hat pin, but in either case the protecting device performs its functions with certainty and efficiency.

For the purposes of ornamentation a device 19 of any suitable design and material may be secured to the hat side of the base, its sole purposes being to hide the base from view when the protector is applied to a hat pin and to serve as a handle in the manipulation of the protector.

lin the application of the device to a pin which has been thrust through a hat and which has a point protruding, the eye or loop 18 is first slipped over the point and slid down along the shank thereof until the base or guard is adjacent the point of the pin. The point of the pin and the guard will then be a short distance apart, the eye on the end of the spring leg 14 being at such an angle that the guard and pin point cannot be brought together without force to either bend or distort the leg or the shank of the hat pin. The socket is then pushed toward the point of the pin, which is then forced in and under the liange 15, the spring action of the coil and of the leg 14% tending to hold the point 12 underneath the flange. lf the material of the leg 14- is heavier or less flexible than the material of the hat pin shank, it is obvious that the hat pin will end of the spring wire The flanges 15 and 17 of the llO bend slightly, aslshown in Figs. l and 3, while if the material of the leg 14 is of greater flexibility than that of the hat pin, it is obvious that the leg will be bent, kas shown in F ig. 4. |This distorting force Ybetween the pin shank and the legY 14 will cause the loop on the leg to grip the pin shank very iirmly and prevent the accidental separation of the pin and guard. rIhe dotted line positions A-A of the pin and protector in Fig. 4 show the position which the point of the pin would occupy relatively to the base of the protector before force is applied to bring the two together. rl`he dotted line of the pin indicated at B in Fig. 4 shows the position of the pin as it is being forced into the guard, while the full line position shows the relative positions of Y the pin and protector after the locking or attaching operation has been completed and the protector is in its final position on the end ot the pin.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that my protecting device is eX- tremely simple and cheap to manufacture, and is of small size, thus enabling it to be carried in a pocket book without inconvenience. The grip obtained by the protector upon the pin is of such strength that it cannot be pulled off of the end withoutthe exertion of great force, unless it has previously been unlocked, thus insuring that the pin is at all times maintained in its proper position in the hat and cannot accidentally become detached. The point is at all times maintained in its proper position in the hat and cannot accidentally become detached. The point is at all times concealed under the keeper of the protector and cannot come in contact with either adjacent persons or fabric to their injury and the device may be attached readily, even though the person attaching it must reach over her head and rely upon the sense of touch alone to secure it in proper position.

Having thus described the invention, whatis claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A hat pin point guard consisting of a fiat sheet metal base having inwardly'extending flanges along three edges thereof, two ot' said lianges being substantially parallel, one of said parallel flanges, forming a keeper guard adapted to laterally receive the point of a hat pin, an L-shaped wire having its Lshaped end securedA to said base by the other two flanges, one leg of the L-shaped wire being relatively long and projecting outwardly in substantially a straight line from the other of said parallelglangesand terminating at its outer end in an eye or loop, the plane of said eye making an angle with the axis of said leg and said eye being out of direct line with said keeper guard, whereby when the hat pin shank is passed through said loop and the point thereon is sprung into said keeper there will be a distorting force between the wire and pin shank at the loop causing the loop to firmly grip the pin shank, the pin shank and looped wire being substantially in the plane of the metal base when the pin point is in the keeper guard. Y

In testimony whereof I aiiiX my signature,

MAUD i. RAY rLocKER.

Sopiei of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

